Mount Saint Helen
The Smoking Mountain
Mount Saint Helen (Mt. St. Helen) is a volcano located in the Pacific Northwest region of Washington. To date, the volcano is responsible for being the most destructive eruption in U.S. history. For many years, the famous volcano did not have much activity. In 1792, seaman and explorer Captain George Vancouver nicknames Mt. St. Helen "The Smoking Mountain." Native Americans local to the area once referred to the volcano as "Loowit" or "Louwala-Clough," which also means smoking mountain. On May 18, 1980, the smoking mountain had its famous eruption. Prior to the eruption, the volcano was the fifth-highest peak in Washington State, with an altitude of 9,677 feet tall.
The Famous Blast
On the morning of May 18th, the area recorded the largest landslide ever recorded. The landslide reduced the volcano's summit and triggered a lateral blast of ash and lava. This blast had a significant impact on the area within 3 minutes. Traveling 300 miles per hour, it destroyed over 230 miles of forest. The ash from the blast traveled 15 miles in the air and completely covered a nearby lake. Some of the destruction entailed 57 people killed, loss of 250 homes, 27 bridges and 15 miles of railway demolished, 185 miles of highway, and billons of dollars worth of damage. Within 15 days, the ash from the volcano encircled the Earth.
Warning Signs
Were there warning signs of an eruption? Fortunately, there was a great deal of activity in the month before the event that helped scientists predict that a volcanic eruption was on the horizon. In late March, a 4.1 earthquake in the area signified the volcano's awakening. This earthquake interested scientists, who soon flocked to study the landform. A small explosion blew a 250-foot hole into the volcano just a week after the earthquake. Similar explosions continued to occur over the next month. In April, a large bulge appeared on the volcano's north face. This bulge continued to push outward approximately 5 feet a day until the morning of the explosion.
Recovery & The Volcano Today
The eruption of Mt. St. Helen was responsible for over a billion dollars of damage in the surrounding area. During the cleanup, over 900 tons of ash were collected. Despite the massive damage, plant, and wildlife were able to return to the area. While thousands of animals perished in the blast, many beetles and spiders began to return to the site after a few months. Within three years, 90% of the original plant species grew again in the blast zone. The return of the plant life helped many bird species and mammals, such as elk and deer, to come back to live there. Although the volcano is still active, it does not show signs of another eruption anytime soon. Today, the volcano has almost fully recovered and is visited yearly by over 500,000 people.